[The Hill] President Obama on Monday granted clemency to 231 federal inmates, the most in a single day by any president in U.S. history.
Obama commuted the prison sentences of 153 people and pardoned 78 others, a sign he is ramping up his use of clemency power during his final weeks in office.
The president has frequently doled out commutations as his final months in office wane. But he has seldom handed out pardons, which formally forgive prisoners for their crimes and restore certain rights. Commutations simply cut short their sentences.
With Monday’s grants, Obama has more than doubled the number of people he has pardoned as president, according to the White House, a number that now stands at 148. He has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 people, including 395 serving life sentences.
"Today’s acts of clemency -- and the mercy he has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients -- exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances," White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post.
The announcement was made during the president's holiday vacation in Hawaii. The grants come as Obama faces pressure from criminal-justice reform advocates to pick up the pace before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
They fear that President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned as a law-and-order candidate, will scale back or eliminate the use of clemency for large groups of federal inmates. Eggleston said the president will make more clemency grants before he leaves office.
Obama has granted clemency more times than any U.S. president, part of his effort to free inmates serving lengthy sentences handed down during the government's War on Drugs.
A bipartisan push in Congress to overhaul the nation’s sentencing laws sputtered during Obama’s second term. Thus he has relied on his clemency initiative, which began in 2014, to accomplish his goal of shortening sentences he and others view as draconian.
#1
"Today’s acts of clemency -- and the mercy he has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients -- exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances,"
Easy bet - 1/2 these guys will be back in jail within the year - is that a 'second chance'?
[NYPOST] An impatient U.S. Marshal tired of waiting for his food at a Brooklyn McDonald’s whipped out a rod on a cashier hoping it would expedite service -- but was instead incarcerated Please don't kill me! , cops said Sunday.
Deputy Marshal Charles Brown entered the fast food joint in Bay Ridge around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, according to police.
Soon after, he began to yell at cashier Joanna Diaz, 41, about the long lines and his presumed hunger.
When that didn’t work, an irate Brown whipped out a gun and pointed it at Diaz, before wheeling around and waving it at other terrified customers at the at the 86th St. eatery -- including one who tried to intervene on the cashier’s behalf -- cops said.
While Brown was able to place his order before cops were called, he left his food behind when he fled the joint, a police source said.
The Marshal was later found drunk nearby, the same source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016 00:00 ||
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Probably got the DHS downsizing notice before he went 'Marshal'.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the curvy blonde actress known for her intriguing personal life, including nine marriages, her breathy accent and her habit of calling everyone "darling," died Sunday after reportedly suffering a heart attack. She was 99.
Gabor is survived by her ninth husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt.
The actress was born Sari Gabor in Budapest on Feb. 6, 1917. Her two sisters, Magda and Eva, also became actresses and she followed Eva to America, where she became a popular celebrity -- famous for being famous.
Her lengthy film career began with 1952's "Lovely to Look At," and included spots in a dozen films and television series, including John Huston's "Moulin Rouge" (1952) and the 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil" by Orson Welles.
Gabor's marriages were the makings of endless headlines and among her husbands were actor George Sanders and hotel magnate Conrad Hilton.
"I am a marvelous housekeeper," she once said. "Every time I leave a man I keep his house."
She also noted, "Husbands are like fires. They go out when unattended."
Gabor often appeared as herself on the screen, including a memorable role in the 1991 film "The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear."
She regularly appeared on the talk show "The Merv Griffin Show" during the 1960s and 1970s. Griffin also created the game show "Jeopardy!"
One of Gabor's toughest rounds of medical problems began while she was watching "Jeopardy." She broke her right hip and suffered a concussion in July 2010 when she fell out of bed while watching the U.S. quiz show. At one point, she received last rites.
Her now-deceased publicist, John Blanchette, told NewsCore after her initial fall, "She has been bedridden since her accident in 2002," referring to a car accident that left the actress partially paralyzed and forced her to use a wheelchair.
She also suffered a stroke in 2005.
In November 2011, she was rushed to the hospital after bleeding from the feeding tube in her stomach, according to her husband. That incident came only a month after she was taken to UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, where she previously had been admitted multiple times, after losing consciousness.
Gabor’s right leg was amputated that same year after powerful antibiotics failed to clear up an infection. She was again hospitalized after screen legend Elizabeth Taylor died in March of that year. Gabor was quoted at the time as saying she feared she would be the next to go.
A video from Ruptly news agency shows dozens of left-wing activists marching in the streets of Copenhagen on Saturday to protest police brutality. The protesters carried banners reading ‘Stop police violence’, while chanting ‘Stop the police’, ‘Nazi police’. Some also fired flares. The protest follows violent clashes between the law enforcement and two opposing protest groups on December 3.
[Deutsche Welle] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Friday announced the 100-bolivar note will remain in use until January 2 after pulling the bank note prompted protests and looting across the country.
Maduro said the decision to extend the use of Venezuela's most widely used note came after a "sabotage" campaign from unnamed enemies abroad blocked the arrival of new higher-valued note.
"One plane, contracted and paid for by Venezuela, was told in flight to change direction and go to another country," he said, speaking from the presidential palace. "There's another which was not given flyover permission."
The president's decision on Thursday to pull the 100-bolivar note - worth approximately $0.03 (0.03 euros) - caused chaos across the country, sparking social unrest in at least six cities on Friday.
According to an opposition lawmaker, up to three people were killed during the protests and looting. Authorities arrested at least 32 people in connection with the unrest.
Opposition leader Julio Borges criticized Maduro's decision to pull the bank note, saying it caused needless further suffering for Venezuelans already dealing with an economic recession in a country with the world's highest inflation rate.
"We have a government utterly stupid and destructive in economic managements, whose only goal is to keep power at whatever price," said Borges.
The government also extended the closure of its border with Brazil and Colombia to block "mafias" that hoard Venezuela's currency. However, critics mocked the idea that criminal organizations would keep their wealth in the world's fastest-devaluing currency.
Updated to include revised Ukrainian armor vehicle losses By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Between six and ten Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Sunday afternoon in an attack in northern Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Russian and Ukrainian language news sources.
According to a report by novorosinform.org, elements of the Ukrainian 54th Rifle Brigade attacked at around 1300 hrs at three points south of the Svetodarsk arc. Among the towns attacked were Logvinovka and Kalinovka.
Kalinovka is northeast of Debaltstevo about six kilometers. Logvinovka sits astride the only major road between Debaltsevo and the regional city of Bakhmut, formerly known as Artemovsk, which serves as a logistical and command hub for Ukrainian forces in the region.
The losses by the Ukrainians were said to be 10 dead, according to Russian accounts. Those casualties and the approximate location of the fighting were confirmed in the Censor.net.ua, by way of a volunteer reporting from his Facebook page, Yuri Mysyagin.
In that report, Mysyagin said six were killed.
According to the Russian account, the Ukrainian also lost three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles in the exchange.
Serial reports on the fighting through the official Lugansk government website originally claimed 30 Ukrainian troops were killed, but later revised those casualty tolls. A subsequent report said that the Ukrainian commanders who ordered the attacks were drunk.
According to the Russian accounts, fighting continues in the area.
The weather in southern Ukraine has been bitterly cold. Lows expected for Monday are about 30 degrees F.
Late reports by rebel media suggested that Ukrainian forces launched an offensive across a relatively wide front of 16 kilometers, hitting rebel strongpoints in Kalinovka to the east, Lozovoye to the west and Logvinovka in the center.
Rebel media say that Debaltsevo is the prize, because rebel forces in both Donetsk and Lugansk regard it as a critical road/rail hub. Debaltsevo was captured by rebel forces in late winter of 2014-2015 after a bloody campaign that cost Ukrainian forces more than 3,500 troops.
The rebels have never released casualty numbers for their side in the Debaltsevo campaign, but reports at the time suggested they were very heavy as well.
Ukrainian forces attempted a similar attack early last summer with much the same results. According to the report, Ukrainian forces, including the Ukrainian 54th and 58th Separate Rifle Brigades, struck rebel lines with a reinforced rifle company against dug in rebel positions at Logvinovka, Lozovoye and Kalinovka.
At the time it was thought by rebel military journalists that Logvinovka could be used to site artillery observers who could then peer into Debaltsevo.
You can read about last summer's fighting in the area here.
A large majority of German economists opposes Italy exiting the Eurozone: 61 percent are against an exit, versus 29 percent in favor. These are the latest results of the Economists Panel jointly conducted by the Ifo Institute and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. All they have to do now is make Italians obey German economists.
No corner of the country may be left unsubmitted to Erdogan Bey, and through him to Allah in the proper way. Or perhaps it's vice versa.
[Ynet] Germany's Foreign Office has expressed irritation over a ban on Christmas celebrations and songs at a German high school in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... The German news agency dpa reported that the Foreign Office said Sunday it "didn't understand the surprising decision by the school's administration."
Dpa reported that the Turkish administrators of the Istanbul Lisesi, a German high school that was established more than 100 years ago, announced that Christmas traditions and the singing of carols would no longer be part of the curriculum.
The Foreign Office called the decision "regrettable" and said it would seek dialogue with its Turkish partners over the incident.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/19/2016 01:56 ||
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The only surprise is they haven't already banned Christmas at schools in Germany.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/19/2016 11:35 Comments ||
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[AlAhram] Turkish authorities on Sunday detained nine people suspected of involvement in a night of violence against offices of the main pro-Kurdish party in apparent reprisal for a deadly attack blamed on Kurdish Lion of Islams.
All those detained are suspected of staging attacks on the party's buildings in Istanbul, the Dogan news agency said.
Turkish media said Saturday's protesters in Kayseri were supporters of the Grey Wolves, a Lion of Islam wing of the MHP which was hugely prominent in the street fighting of the 1980s and early 1990s.
[RUDAW.NET] Fire brigades failed to extinguish burning offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the police have destroyed evidence, HDP claimed after a wave of attacks on its offices across the country Saturday night.
"Yesterday, 14 district offices, 5 city offices and our HQ were assaulted. Our buildings were completely destroyed or set aflame," HDP tweeted Sunday.
In a presser on Sunday, HDP’s party spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen, levelled several charges against Turkish authorities.
At their burning office in Kayseri, central The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , he said, the fire brigade did not put out the fire but instead removed a sign and hung a flag.
At their office in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district, the police spray painted over slogans written on the walls by those who had smashed and burnt the office.
"It is the government that is responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone," said Bilgen. "The one who is accountable is the political party that is in power."
Saturday’s attacks are the latest in a string of violent incidents targeting HDP offices.
On Thursday, an armed assailant fired shots at HDPs headquarters. He later surrendered to police. On Wednesday, mobs threw stones at HDP’s office in Adalar, Istanbul. On Tuesday, offices in Buyukcekme, Konya, and Mersin were attacked. On Monday, unknown persons set fire to the door of HDP’s Yalova office and others fired shots at the Balikesir office.
"The government is manipulating public opinion against our party to whitewash its failure and troubles regarding internal and external politics," HDP said in a statement condemning Thursday’s attack.
HDP said they are being attacked because of their continued objection to attempts to amend the constitution and bring in an executive presidency, which would place a lot of power into the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... On Sunday, Bilgen said his party would be afraid and would continue to insist on pursuing democratic politics.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/19/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Saturday's protesters in Kayseri were supporters of the Grey Wolves, a Lion of Islam wing of the MHP which was hugely prominent in the street fighting of the 1980s and early 1990s
The Turks apparently are now letting them fight in Syria instead.
[Reuters] U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday rejected a New Mexico lawyer's long-shot bid to force a Senate confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, after Republican senators refused to act on his nomination.
Steven Michel, a Santa Fe environmental attorney, filed suit in U.S. federal court in August, arguing that the Republican-led Senate's failure to act on Garland's nomination deprived Michel of his rights as a voter under the U.S. Constitution's 17th Amendment, which outlines how senators are elected.
The U.S. Constitution calls on the president to nominate Supreme Court justices, with confirmation of the selection in the hands of the Senate. The Senate, in a move with little precedent in U.S. history, simply refused to consider Garland's nomination, saying the winner of the Nov. 8 presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton should make the pick.
#2
I could not believe this was a real headline. Washington Post no less. Good grief.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/19/2016 16:31 Comments ||
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#3
I read the first couple of paragraphs - I could feel my IQ dropping with each passing word. Hope the condition is reversible. Or maybe I'm just reading more of that 'fake news' they keep telling me about.
#4
The writer concluded that while the president taking the lead is desirable, it is not necessary. States and municipalities, companies and individuals can take over instead of waiting for the president. Let 1000 flowers bloom, let the grassroots take the lead. I think it's a brilliant idea.
#5
tw, if California wants to destroy their economy, I say let them. As long as they don't a) come begging for a handout from the Federal Government, and b)people don't move out but vote for the same policies in their new states.
[Detroit News] Sunrise, Fla. -- President-elect Donald Trump has picked Vincent Viola, a New York businessman, West Point graduate and owner of the Florida Panthers hockey team, as his secretary of the Army.
In a statement Monday, Trump praised Viola, the son of Italian immigrants, as "living proof of the American dream" who has "long been engaged with national security issues."
Viola grew up in Brooklyn, the first member of his family to attend college, and went on to serve in the 101st Airborne Division, attend law school and start multiple businesses. He bought the NHL hockey team in 2013 for about $250 million.
The announcement of Viola comes as electors in all 50 states were meeting to formally elect Trump president, paving his way to take office on Jan. 20.
Trump is at his Palm Beach. Florida, estate, Mar-a-Lago, for the holidays, and is expected to hold more meetings Monday as he rounds out his administration’s team.
[RUDAW.NET] Thousands of Muslims in the Indian region of Kashmir reacted emotionally as the custodian of a shrine displayed what is believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammed.
They have gathered to pray and mark the birth of the prophet on Friday. Real news, not fake.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016 00:00 ||
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But remember, Muslims aren't allowed to have depictions or images or anything else that might amount to *idolatry*. *eye roll*
[The Grauniad] The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials. 'Crippling foreign policies result in 'crippling exodus.' Seems only appropriate. Prevent their departure? We should help them pack...
The top level officials in the National Security Council (NSC) are political appointees who have to submit resignations and leave in a normal transition. The rest of the 400 NSC staff are career civil servants on secondment from other departments. An unusual number of these more junior officials are now looking to depart. Finding 'real' employment will be very difficult. Your former boss has seen to that.
Many are concerned by a proliferation of reports about the incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn. On Wednesday the Washington Post reported that Flynn had improperly shared classified information with foreign military officers. On the same day, CNN reported that the former DIA chief had this week deleted a tweet he had sent out a few days before the election that linked to a fake news story suggesting Hillary Clinton took part in crimes against children.
“Career people are looking get out and go back to their agencies and pressure is being put on them to get them to stay. There is concern there will be a half-empty NSC by the time the new administration arrives, which no one wants,” said one official.
The official added that the “landing team” sent to the NSC – Trump representatives who are supposed to prepare for the handover to Trump appointees – have been focused on issues of process, how the office functions, rather than issues of substance involving an explanation of current national security threats and the state of the world the new administration will inherit.
The Trump transition team in New York did not respond to a request for comment. The current NSC spokesman, Ned Price said in an email: “The administration has undertaken its national security transition planning with the utmost rigour and seriousness in order to effect the most seamless and responsible transition.” Say Ned, don't forget that non-flowering Bagonya and photograph of your mother.
It is not clear how many of the incoming team have taken up the offer of personal briefings. Flynn himself has been meeting a steady flow of foreign diplomats in New York in recent days. He met the UK national security adviser, Mark Lyall Grant, over the weekend, and French president’s diplomatic adviser, Jacques Audibert, a few days earlier. It is unclear how much contact there is between the embryonic policy teams in New York and the landing teams in Washington, however.
Julianne Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to vice-president Joe Biden, now director of strategy and statecraft at the Center for a New American Security, added: “Many of them are starting to look at other options, some of the younger people are looking to switch careers, return to graduate school, try and go abroad. I have seen and met with a lot of these people and there does seem to be an unusual level of worry and concern and fear.” 'Worry, concern and fear?' After eight years of failure, I should hope so
It could be hard for NSC staffers “detailed” (seconded) from other departments to return to their former positions ahead of schedule. That would require the agreement of their managers and could harm long-term career prospects. Those that do leave however, will leave vacancies that are hard to fill. Their replacements would have to be drawn from career civil servants at other agencies, as the White House does not have the budget to fund the posts if they are filled by political appointees. As a result the process of filling the empty posts could take months. Ultimately, Republicans want to reduce the NSC to 200 staff, but it would have to be restructured if it is to be cut in half. The departures actually assist the Republican staff reduction goal. so there is no downside.
“An understaffed White House is one potential risk right now and another is having a team that hasn’t had the substantive briefing they need from the current team for the hand off,” Smith said. Actually, they should be prohibited from speaking to incoming staff personnel.
Reports from the state department suggest most of its staff are taking a wait-and-see to the prospect of having the ExxonMobil oil executive, Rex Tillerson, at the helm. On Thursday, most of the Democrats on the House foreign affairs committee wrote to the current secretary of state, John Kerry, offering his staff protection against a “witch-hunt” by the new administration against civil servants who worked on Obama policies Trump wants to reverse. The letter was sent after the energy department refused to hand over to the Trump transition team a list of names of staffers who had worked on climate change.
#7
As much as an eight year gap in their CV. Very difficult to explain. Perhaps some generic gov't assignment which cannot be discussed. Be creative for once you vile lizards, but be GONE !
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the curvy blonde actress known for her intriguing personal life, including nine marriages, her breathy accent and her habit of calling everyone "darling," died Sunday after reportedly suffering a heart attack. She was 99.
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[RUDAW.NET] Thousands of Muslims in the Indian region of Kashmir reacted emotionally as the custodian of a shrine displayed what is believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammed.
[The Grauniad] The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials.
